Is it raining or am I just crying too much? It feels like it's raining and I haven't begun to save for a rainy day. Right now I am all over the board. We had a fantastic weekend at the beach over Labor Day weekend. I came back rested and relaxed. Wednesday morning I went to my 6 week follow up appointment with my gynecologist. I spent 40 minutes in the waiting room, 30 more in the exam room and 20 minutes visiting with the doctor. He found that the cysts on my left ovary were the combined size of an orange. The right was so far away that he could not see much but indicated that if the cysts were large, we would be able to see them. OK, so a black and white sonogram is not enough information to determine if they have cancerous cells, but if they did have prominent cancer cells, the cysts would have white spots on them and we did not see any of those. Bottom line option - remove the entire system and jump start me into early menopause. Ug! It's like I was walking and slammed up against the sliding glass door. OK, so maybe not as painful, but close. I had almost an out of body experience when I left the office. I knew what he told me and I understood what needs to happen, but not ready to say 'let's do this.' My doctor said I can come back in 4 weeks to get him to take a look again to see if they are going to reduce in size but if they are not smaller, then we will schedule surgery. I know it is inevitable that this surgery was going to happen, but I did not expect it so soon.
On a positive note, Madison's soccer season starts this weekend. She is playing with the same group from last season. If you are in the Round Rock area and have an hour to spend out at the soccer fields, come see her play. Here is a link to her schedule. You can find directions to the fields at Voigt elementary school. She is a little more focused this season and has learned that picking the flowers or grass on the field is not allowed. However, when the game is over, she is welcome to pick the flowers and take them home. I told her this on the way home today from practice and she was proud of herself for not picking the flowers during practice. Perhaps lunch at Niki's pizza is in store as a treat for her after the game this weekend. And a trip to Goodwill to pick out a fancy vase for her flowers.
I love your guts!
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| Cancer test : golf score |
Today I got the pamphlet about the Oncotype test. Get ready to laugh with me...the envelope it arrived in was the tall 8-12" x 11" size. The pamphlet is an awkward 4" x 5", 10-paged glossy book of non-information. The company has the nerve to call this a guide. I did learn that the test looks a 21 different genes, where only 16 relate to the benefit from chemotherapy and the chance of cancer coming back. Now that was informative.
Now, the score. They score the results 0 to 100 and the lower the number, the less likely chemo will be recommended. Well, that sounds great, but I want a number! I may be a marketing professional, but I still need some numbers. Still no number is given. I continue to read that if the number is high, chemotherapy is beneficial. Sounds logical. On the next page, it explains that a low score does not mean the cancer will not return. By now, I want to pull my hair out. Oh wait, it might come out on its own later. This pamphlet makes me want to explain the game of golf to Madison and Brett. "Now, honey, the lower your score is, you will be a winner. And if your score is high, you lose. No, I cannot tell you how low the number should be, just know it needs to be a small number, like 1 or 2. Or it could be 6 or 11. No, I'm not sure...." [Disclaimer: I spent my one sarcasm pass for the day.]
Basically, this pamphlet tells me the test is a guess at what is going on in your body at a microbial level. Based on historical performance of tests on a range of women close to your age, your oncologist may or may not recommend chemotherapy as part of your cancer treatment.
I resolve myself to say that God has the master plan for me. I handed this over to Him and will be ready to play some golf - literally and figuratively.
Running is fun, but driving the ball a further distance than my husband really makes me smile. When I get full mobility back and I have a pocket of time, let's hit a bucket of balls. I'm best with the driver and love to hit off the tee. Perhaps I need to be shopping for a new one instead of a watch. I am not sure I care what time it is anymore. Ha!
I love your guts!
P.S. My house is clean today - from top to bottom. BIG thanks to my Aunt Linda! Thank you for this wonderful treat!!! A clean home checks one more thing off my list of things that need to get done.
Is it raining or am I just crying too much? It feels like it's raining and I haven't begun to save for a rainy day. Right now I am all over the board. We had a fantastic weekend at the beach over Labor Day weekend. I came back rested and relaxed. Wednesday morning I went to my 6 week follow up appointment with my gynecologist. I spent 40 minutes in the waiting room, 30 more in the exam room and 20 minutes visiting with the doctor. He found that the cysts on my left ovary were the combined size of an orange. The right was so far away that he could not see much but indicated that if the cysts were large, we would be able to see them. OK, so a black and white sonogram is not enough information to determine if they have cancerous cells, but if they did have prominent cancer cells, the cysts would have white spots on them and we did not see any of those. Bottom line option - remove the entire system and jump start me into early menopause. Ug! It's like I was walking and slammed up against the sliding glass door. OK, so maybe not as painful, but close. I had almost an out of body experience when I left the office. I knew what he told me and I understood what needs to happen, but not ready to say 'let's do this.' My doctor said I can come back in 4 weeks to get him to take a look again to see if they are going to reduce in size but if they are not smaller, then we will schedule surgery. I know it is inevitable that this surgery was going to happen, but I did not expect it so soon.
On a positive note, Madison's soccer season starts this weekend. She is playing with the same group from last season. If you are in the Round Rock area and have an hour to spend out at the soccer fields, come see her play. Here is a link to her schedule. You can find directions to the fields at Voigt elementary school. She is a little more focused this season and has learned that picking the flowers or grass on the field is not allowed. However, when the game is over, she is welcome to pick the flowers and take them home. I told her this on the way home today from practice and she was proud of herself for not picking the flowers during practice. Perhaps lunch at Niki's pizza is in store as a treat for her after the game this weekend. And a trip to Goodwill to pick out a fancy vase for her flowers. 
